Hear me now and listen to me later. Colombia is perfectly safe. I've not only been there, I bussed around Colombia on two separate occasions, hung around the old city of Cartagena after hours, and camped out on the beaches of Parque Nacional de Tayrona. I didn't so much as get my wallet pinched. The first time I entered Colombia, I came in from San Cristobal, Venezuela's to get to Cucuta, Colombia. From there I took a night bus to Bogota and eventually returned to Venezuela via the Maracaibo route. The second time I paid Colombia a visit, I came through via Ecuador and left out the same Maracaibo exit. Both times I travelled solo. Now, I won't say that Colombia is the safest place in the world, but it's a far cry from deadly or even scary for that matter. I met several young ladies, in fact, who were travelling alone. Of course, you can't go around with fancy wears and a rolex watch without expecting to get into trouble. While there, I didn't meet any other back packers (Canadian, American, British, Belgium, Norwegian, Swede, and Israeli) who had any horror stories to tell me about there experience in Colombia. Nonetheless, I would recommend reading up on the culture and news concerning Colombia before travelling there. Further, as with any place, keep your head up, don't beg for trouble, and don't break the law.